12 cheetahs relocated to India
ACADEMICS from the University of Pretoria (UP) are playing a leading role in the reintroduction of wild cheetahs to India, as part of efforts to ensure the survival of the species.
This week, 12 cheetahs were relocated to the Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh.
Nine were from the Rooiberg Veterinary Services in Limpopo and three from the Phinda Private Game Reserve in KwaZulu-Natal.
The International Union for Conservation of Nature, the global authority on the status of the natural world, estimates that there are fewer than 7 000 wild cheetahs in the world.
Project Cheetah forms part of a longterm plan.
Professor Adrian Tordiffe, the veterinary wildlife specialist at UP’s Faculty of Veterinary Science, said: “There is growing concern about finding new export opportunities to ensure that the free-ranging wild cheetah population grows in a sustainable manner.
“Very few new reserves can accommodate cheetahs in South Africa, and if no new space is found to accommodate the expanding population, animals will have to be placed on contraceptives to limit their numbers. This would be a tragedy when there are protected areas elsewhere in the world.”
Tordiffe said Project Cheetah aimed to bring back the only large mammal that recently became extinct in India, thus restoring balance within the ecosystems it once inhabited.
“Post-colonial era in India led to Asiatic cheetahs being hunted for sport, which led to their extinction. The last cheetah in the country was shot in 1947.”
The initiative is the first intercontinental species reintroduction of its kind.
Tordiffe said the presence of the Acinonyx jubatus species of cheetahs could result in more focused ecosystem conservation, which could benefit many other animal species in India.
“We must make bold moves to secure this species into the future. Otherwise, in 50 years there will be no more cheetahs other than those in captivity.
“A roll-out will occur almost every year for the next five to 10 years until we help establish a stable population in India. The cheetahs will not be lost to South Africa for good.”
Tordiffe and his team would stay with the cheetahs in India until Friday. He said the cheetahs had been released into quarantine camps.
“They are doing very well and have been fed. They won’t hunt until the 30-day quarantine period has been finished.”
Professor Yadvendradev Jhala, Dean of the Indian Wildlife Institute, said: “Extending the current range of the cheetah into its historical distribution where it was made extinct by human actions will help restore an important element of the ecosystem and support local livelihood through ecotourism.”